Article packaging sleeve



June 26, 1962 w. B. CRANE ARTICLE PACKAGING SLEEVE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 28, 1959 INVENTOR Mu 22w 5. Gem/E 4 {W fizarlzgyfi June 26, 1962 Filed Sept. 28, 1959 W. B. CRANE ARTICLE PACKAGING SLEEVE 2 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR. #414 701V 5 Gav/v5 United States Patent Off 3,040,966 ARTICLE PACKAGING SLEEVE Walton B. Crane, South Pasadena, Calif., assignor t Allied Plastics Company, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Sept. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 842,792 3 Claims. (Cl. 229-53) This invention deals generally with the packaging of articles for retail sale, and particularly with a unique article packaging means for this purpose.

The invention is intended especially for packaging articles of produce, such as oranges and grapes, for retail sale. For this reason, the invention will 'be described in connection with this use. It will become readily apparent as the descripiton proceeds, however, that the present packaging means may be used to package a wide variety of other articles. Accordingly, the invention should not be thought of as limited in use to packaging product, as disclosed herein for illustrative purposes.

Briefly stated, the prment packaging means comprises a sleeve of thin pliable material, such as a transparent plastic sheet material. At the time of packaging, one end of this sleeve is sealed or otherwise closed to form a bag for receiving the articles to be packaged. The material of the sleeve is slit in a way which affords the latter with the ability to stretch or expand in the radial direction for accommodating the packaged articles. The slitting, however, do% not affect the elasticity of the sleeve or bag in the longitudinal direction, so that the bag does not stretch appreciably under the weight of the articles therein. When the bag is filled, the slits widen to form ventilation openings through which air may freely flow. Such ventilation openings, of course, are highly important and necessary when packaging articles of produce.

A better understanding of the invention may be had from the following detailed description thereof taken in connection with the annexed drawings, wherein:

FIG. l is a view in perspective of one form of the present packaging sleeve sealed at one end to form a bag.

FIG. 2 is a view looking into the open mouth of the bag of FIG. 1 after it has been filled;

FIG. 3 is a view, on reduced scale, of one side of the bag of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a side veiw of a slightly modified form of the present packaging sleeve;

FIG. 5 illustrates a further modified form of packaging sleeve;

FIG. 6 illustrates the sleeve of FIG. 5 filled with produce and closed at its end to form a produce package; and

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate an alternative way of making the packaging sleeve or bag of the invention.

FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrate one form of the present invention which is especially designed for packaging relatively large, generally spherical articles of produce, such as oranges. This form of the invention comprises a sleeve 10 which is sealed at its lower end, as indicated at 12, to form a bag. The upper end of the sleeve is left open to permit placing of the articles 14 in the bag.

Sleeve 10 has a pair of generally diametrically opposite slit panels or areas 16. These slit areas are separated by relatively wide unslit portions 18 of the sleeve. Portions 18 form diametrically opposed bands which extend lengthwise of the sleeve.

The areas 16 of the sleeve are slit in the manner described in copending application Serial No. 809,391 filed April 28, 1959, entitled Wrapper for Packaged Produce and have longitudinally extending rows 20 of spaced slits 22. The slits 22 in adjacent rows 20 are oliset, in the 3,040,966 Patented June 26, 1962 lengthwise direction of the rows, a distance approximately to one-half the slit length. The slits in alternate rows are approximately aligned in the transverse direction of the rows. This slitting arrangement provides the sleeve 10 with the ability to stretch or expand in the radial direction, as illustrated. It is obvious, however, that the slits 20 do not appreciably affect the elasticity or stretchability of the sleeve 10 in the longitudinal direction. The elasticity of the sleeve in this latter direction is dependent on the elasticity of the material from which the sleeve is made. This material may comprise any suitable thin pliable material, such as a thin transparent plastic ma terial, for example.

In use, the articles of produce 14 are placed in the bag, as shown. The upper end of the bag is then closed in any suitable way. This may be simply accomplished by gathering and binding the upper end of the bag with a cord or band 23.

When filling the bag of FIGS. l-3, the articles 14 being packaged are arranged in two rows or columns, each located adjacent one of the unslit hands 18. It will be observed in FIG. 2 that when the bag is filled in this way, it assumes a generally flat shape. The two slit areas or panels 16 form two sides and the unslit bands 18 form the remaining two sides of the filled bag. The slit panels '16 stretch to accommodate articles of different size while the unslit hands 18 tend to retain the articles 14 in position and to limit stretching of the bag in the transverse directions of the slit panels 16.

Stretching of the panels 16 develops inwardly directed tension forces on the bands 18 which draw the latter inwardly about the articles to form a firm produce package of unique and extremely pleasing appearance. The width of the bands 18, of course, will be determined to some extent by the size of the articles to be packaged. That is, the band Width is preferably approximately one-half of the circumferential dimension of the packaged articles, as shown.

It will be observed that the rows of slits 20 extend completely to the upper end of the sleeve 10 which defines the mouth of the packaging hag. This allows the mouth of the bage to be appreciably stretched to facilitate placing of the articles in the bag. In some cases, however, stretching of the bag mouth may be undesirable. The modified bag 10a of FIG. 4 is identical in all respects to the bag just described, except that the rows 20a of slits 22a which are formed in the slit area 16a of the bag terminate in spaced relationship to the upper end of the bag sleeve. This leaves an unslit hand 24a which encircles the mouth of the bag. The band is relatively unelastic so that the mouth of the bag cannot be =appre ciably widened by stretching as in the previous form of the invention.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a modified sleeve 1% which is especially designed for packaging articles of produce sold in bunches, such as grapes. Both ends of this modified packaging sleeve are initially open and closed by gathering and wrapping with a cord or band. The rows 20b of slits 22b extend entirely about the sleeve. As a result, when the sleeve 10b is filled with articles of produce, such as grapes, it tends to assume a generally spherical shape, as shown in FIG. 6. This spherical shape again provides a package of unique and highly pleasing appearance. The two ends of the sleeve may he closed by gathering and binding.

In order to promote its formation into a generally spherical shape when it is filled, the sleeve just described can be modified to the extent of providing an unslit band (not shown) about each of its ends in much the same manner as described with reference to FIG. 4.

It will be observed that when each of the described sleeves is filled, the resultant stretching of its slit areas or panels widens the slits therein into ventilation openings through which air may freely flow. These ventilation openings are essential when packaging produce. As mentioned earlier, since the slits extend longitudinally of the sleeves, they do not appreciably affect the elasticity of the latter in the longitudinal direction. As a result, when the sleeves are filled, they will not stretch to an awkward or unpleasing length under the weight of their contents. While the slits are preferably straight, as illustrated, they may be arcuate or angular or may comprise slot openings rather than true slits.

The packaging means of this invention may be made in various ways. For example, a long sleeve of transparent plastic or other material may be extruded, slit, and then cut oil at intervals to form individual packaging sleeves. In the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the rows of slits may, obviously, extend the entire length of the long extruded sleeve. In the case of the bags illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, on the other hand, the rows of slits in the long extruded sleeve must be interrupted to provide the unslit bands at the ends of the finished bags.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate how the sleeve or bag of the invention may be made in a way other than by such a sleeve extrusion technique. In this case, a rectangular sheet 30, which is slit in much the same way as described earlier, is folded on itself as shown in FIG. 7. The opposing side edge portions 32 of the two folded halves of the sheet are then joined, as by heat scaling, to form the sleeve or bag of FIG. 8.

It will be obvious, therefore, that the packaging means hereinbefore described and illustrated are fully capable of obtaining the objects and advantages preliminarily set forth.

While certain preferred forms of the invention have been disclosed, they are intended to be purely illustrative, rather than limiting, in nature since various modifications are possible within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An article packaging means comprising a sleeve of thin pliable material formed with circumferentially spaced, longitudinally extending rows of spaced slits, said rows terminating in spaced relation to one end of the sleeve, the unslit end of said sleeve being sealed to form a bag, the slits in adjacent rows being offset in the lengthwise direction of the rows and the slits alternate rows being approximately aligned in the transverse direction of the rows.

2. An article packaging means comprising a sleeve of thin pliable material having a pair of generally diametrically opposite slit areas separated by diametrically opposite unslit bands extending lengthwise of the sleeve, said slit areas having rows of spaced slits, said rows extending lengthwise of and being circumferentially spaced about the sleeve, the slits in adjacent rows heing olfset in the lengthwise direction of the rows and the slits in alternate rows being approximately aligned in the transverse direction of the rows, said rows terminating short of one end of the sleeve, and said one end being sealed to form abag.

3. An article packaging means comprising a sleeve of thin pliable material closed at one end to form a bag and having a pair of generally diametrically opposite slit areas separated by a pair of diametrically opposite unslit bands extending lenghtwise of the sleeve, said slit areas having rows of spaced slits, said rows extending lengthwise of and being circumferential'ly spaced about the sleeve, the slits in adjacent rows being offset in the lengthwise direction of the rows and the slits in alternate rows being approximately aligned in the transverse direction of the rows.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,311,767 Lurnbard Feb. 23, 1943 2,382,400 Decker et al. Aug. 14, 1945 2,641,102 Hall Jan. 9, 1953 2,689,678 Wendt Sept. 21, 1954 

